Absorbent articles such as diapers, training pants or incontinence garments desirably provide a close, comfortable fit about the wearer and contain body exudates. Moreover, absorbent articles, after being soiled, optimally can be removed from the wearer in a convenient and clean manner without undesirably soiling the caregiver, the surrounding area or the clothes of the wearer. In certain circumstances, it is also beneficial for such absorbent articles to be capable of being pulled up or down over the hips of the wearer to allow the wearer or caregiver to easily pull the article on or off. Given the various shapes and sizes of the wearers of absorbent articles, it would also be beneficial for the caregiver or the wearer to be able to adjust the fit of the waist opening of the article.
Conventional diapers are not provided in a prefastened condition and have typically included a front waist portion and a back waist portion that are releasably connected about the hips of the wearer by conventional fasteners such as adhesive tape fasteners or hook and loop fasteners. For example, conventional fastening means typically included a pair of fasteners, such as adhesive tape tabs, located on the outermost corners in the back waist region of the diaper and a complimentary fastener, such as a taping panel, located on the exterior surface of the outer cover in the front waist portion of the diaper. In such a configuration, the diaper is positioned between the legs of the wearer while the wearer is lying down, and the adhesive tape tabs are releasably attached to the taping panel to secure the back waist portion to the front waist portion of the diaper, to secure the diaper about the waist of the wearer. Such conventional diapers are easy to fasten about and remove from the wearer after use without undesirably soiling the caregiver. However, such conventional diapers are not provided in a pant-like, prefastened configuration and, thus, are not configured to be pulled up or down over the hips of the wearer when the fasteners are attached. Moreover, the fasteners on such conventional diapers generally are difficult to disengage and reattach to further adjust or conform the waist opening of the diaper to the waist of the wearer. Such disengagement and reattachment can also be difficult to accomplish when the wearer is active.
Several attempts have been made to provide absorbent articles that effectively contain body exudates, which are easily pulled up and/or down over the hips of the wearer to provide for easy cleaning and removal. For example, some conventional absorbent articles, such as conventional training pants, have included integral side panels that connect the front waist portion to the back waist portion of the absorbent article. The side panels have been made to stretch such that the waist opening of the absorbent article can expand to allow the absorbent article to be pulled up or down over the hips of the wearer if desired. The side panels have also been designed so that they may be torn to remove the training pant from the wearer after it has been soiled.
However, many of these absorbent articles have not been completely satisfactory. For example, conventional absorbent articles such as training pants have a chassis with a width at a crotch region of the absorbent article at least as wide as the waist opening of the absorbent article when the absorbent article is in a relaxed, unstretched configuration. If the chassis width at the crotch region is at least as wide as the relaxed waist opening, the wearer cannot step into the leg openings and the application of the absorbent article is difficult. In this case, the wearer or caregiver must put the wearer's foot off to the side when applying the training pant.
Additionally, the absorbent articles, such as training pants, have not always been able to achieve a close conforming fit to the wearer while still being able to expand enough to be pulled up and down over the hips of the wearer. Often such training pants fit the waist of the wearer loosely, which can undesirably result in leaks. As a result, many of these articles have not contained bodily exudates as effectively as conventional diaper-type articles that can be adjusted to achieve a more conforming fit to the wearer. Moreover, the inspection and removal of soiled absorbent articles that have integral side panels, such as conventional training pants, have not always been completely satisfactory. For example, the side panels have been difficult to tear when attempting to remove the article from the waist of the wearer instead of pulling the article down over the hips of the wearer.
Accordingly, despite the attempts to develop improved absorbent articles, there remains a need for absorbent articles that have a relatively narrow chassis at the crotch region for easy leg application, with the leg openings directly below and visible through the waist opening. Further, there remains a need for absorbent articles that are adjustable to conform to the wearer for effective containment of bodily exudates, are capable of being pulled up and/or down over the hips and buttocks of the wearer, are readily secured about and removed from the wearer in a convenient and clean manner and are easily inspected by the caregiver to determine whether the article is soiled. Additionally, there remains a need for absorbent articles that can be converted between pull-on pants and diapers.